IPA wipedown after ONR wash?

A

anson89

New member
Do you guys do an IPA wipedown after an ONR wash and clay if you're planning to do a correction?



Or does clay actually remove all previous sealants and waxes?
 
You would do an IPA wipedown after polishing to remove polishing oils or if you're concerned about any protection hiding imperfections before you do your correction you would do a dawn wash (or whatever LSP stripping product you prefer to use).
 
I have had times that a car had several coats of LSP and Dawn was not enough to remove it all in one shot, so I have done IPA wipedowns in that case. After ONR wash I would do it. Clay will remove some, but not all unless there was very little there to begin with.
 
Well my concern is that as the weather is getting colder, I'll be doing more ONR washes vs traditional bust out the foam gun washes outdoor. That's why I was wondering if just doing an ONR wash + clay is fine before a correction vs Dawn wash, clay, dry etc etc
 
Interesting question. On one hand, there's no harm in polishing a car as long as it's been clayed. The IPA wipedown in this case is almost a moot point since machine polishing will almost instantly remove any LSP (barring opti-coat which still won't last long under mechanical abrasion) On the other hand, how do you get an accurate feel for the amount of correction required without completely removing all surface coatings? You could do a test spot but you would be comparing a corrected area to a partially LSP'd area which won't be ideal. I'm interested in seeing where this goes.
 
MichaelM said:
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Awww. I'm not a thread killer. Let's really think about it. You take a polymer in a solvent suspension, most of the volume of the LSP evaporates away leaving a very small amount of actual "cross linked" material behind, then subject it to mechanical abrasion?! How long can it really hold up? I'm sorry but if I subjected a high quality teflon cooking appliance, which, by the way was coated using the optimal method of epitaxial coating under high heat in an oxygen free environment to promote actual bonding of the PTFE material, I could blow right through it in a matter of seconds with a rotary and some menz power gloss. After 3 semesters of engineering chemistry and 4 semesters of calculus based physics, I just can't see how a chemically (less than ideal) deposited layer of any product could really stand up to machine polishing. I'm not here to argue the validity of the OP's question but rather to get some real world understanding of whether or not the IPA wipedown is necessary. I'm eager to hear the responses!
 
pmnewton said:
.. how do you get an accurate feel for the amount of correction required without completely removing all surface coatings? You could do a test spot but you would be comparing a corrected area to a partially LSP'd area which won't be ideal. I'm interested in seeing where this goes.
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For me, this can go in a different direction, and this is possibly more of my Autopian Heresy, but here goes- if there's no apparent marring after the cleanup, *regardless of whether it's really perfect or OTOH imperfect with concealed marring*, then why plan to do a correction? Why not just refresh the LSP and merely keep the OK-looking car protected?



Yeah, that's the Heretical aspect of it, huh? IMO, who cares if there's hidden marring as long as it looks good. I'd have discussed the whole "what's required for this job" thing with the customer before I even started the job and gotten the hidden vs. corrected thing decided upon beforehand.



OK, yeah, there's the "selling customers the full package" aspect, and you'd be losing the $ by not pushing the correction service (as in, "correct every vehicle every time"). But I'm not in favor of correcting cars that already look OK. Like..."your car looked fine, but I discovered some swirlmarks that were hidden. So I'm charging you for cutting off xmils of clear and now it doesn't just *look* OK, it really *is* OK!" Customer looks at the car and says "WT[F], it looks the same, why waste my money and my clearcoat?!?"
 
Not sure why you'd do an IPA wipedown before doing a correction. If you are polishing out swirls, which means removing a thin layer of paint, do you really think the wax or sealant will get in the way? Save the IPA for after polishing to make sure your polishes aren't hiding anything.
 
Scottwax said:
Not sure why you'd do an IPA wipedown before doing a correction. If you are polishing out swirls, which means removing a thin layer of paint, do you really think the wax or sealant will get in the way?
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Agree, though in some rare cases (heavily layered KSG, really healthy 476S), I ended up stopping the polishing to IPA because my pads were gumming up and things were generally not going well. Kinda surprised me, and I too am always saying to just "polish through that stuff, if it'll cut paint it'll remove LSP"...well, now I'd better make that "usually" instead of "always".
 
Accumulator said:
Agree, though in some rare cases (heavily layered KSG, really healthy 476S), I ended up stopping the polishing to IPA because my pads were gumming up and things were generally not going well. Kinda surprised me, and I too am always saying to just "polish through that stuff, if it'll cut paint it'll remove LSP"...well, now I'd better make that "usually" instead of "always".
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Do you think the waxes that produced these results was due to the toughness of the bond to the clear or the composition of the wax or sealant?
 
Accumulator said:
Agree, though in some rare cases (heavily layered KSG, really healthy 476S), I ended up stopping the polishing to IPA because my pads were gumming up and things were generally not going well. Kinda surprised me, and I too am always saying to just "polish through that stuff, if it'll cut paint it'll remove LSP"...well, now I'd better make that "usually" instead of "always".
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I'd had a few cases of Menz SIP not playing well at all during correction. RyDawg suggested making sure the car was completely free of any traces of LSP (and clay lube, even) before using any of the Menz polishes, but especially SIP. A few wipes with PrepWash followed by a quick IPA wipe made SIP behave much better.



Some polishes seem to cut right through LSP's with no problems, while others are a bit finicky about working on a completely LSP free finish. Since talking to RyDawg, I've always PrepWashed/IPA wiped down vehicles after claying and before using any Menz polishes. Never had a problem with 105/205 being picky about cutting through LSP's, though.
 
IMO if you need to use a paint cleaner before you polish your prep process probably needs to be amped up a bit. Perhaps a touch of prep wash in your wash water or an APC pre-treat, etc...
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
Do you think the waxes that produced these results was due to the toughness of the bond to the clear or the composition of the wax or sealant?
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In the cases I'm thinking of I *think* it was the latter. But I can see a "tenacious bond" causing issues where a "barely adhering" product wouldn't.



SuperBee364 said:
.. Since talking to RyDawg, I've always PrepWashed/IPA wiped down vehicles after claying and before using any Menz polishes. Never had a problem with 105/205 being picky about cutting through LSP's, though.
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That's good to know. IIRC, the issues I had were with Hi-Temp and 3M PI-III stuff.
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
A strong (50%+) IPA solution will strip most LSPs pretty easily right?
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Depends on LSP and how fresh it is. It might be safe to say MOST but definitely not ALL.
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
A strong (50%+) IPA solution will strip most LSPs pretty easily right?
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Yes, it might need a couple of passes. My normal is 70%. But machine polishing will instantly go through any LSP or oils left behind by ONR or a wax.
 
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